Use of an infusion pump in conjunction with a Bar Code Medical Administration (BCMA) system requires that the infusion pump present a barcode. Typically, this barcode is manually attached or adhered to an infusion channel of an infusion pump. This barcode is scanned to associate a medication order with the infusion channel. The use of this approach has many issues. For example, correlation of the BCMA systems identification information with that of other means (e.g., wireless networking), cleaning of the infusion pump, barcode label loss and subsequent replacement.
Moreover, the symbology, format and content of the barcode used to identify the pump channel is specific to the BCMA system used. The manufacturer of the infusion pump's barcode is not used, and there is no universal standard for the barcodes compatible with BCMA systems.
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